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County Judge Defends Trash System

Posted on: Wednesday, 3 August 2005, 18:00 CDT

Aug. 3--BROWNSVILLE -- Cameron County Judge Gilberto Hinojosa became emotional Tuesday as he defended the county's new trash collection system.

Hinojosa and county commissioners heard sharp criticism from two Arroyo City men who accused county officials of bungling the process of setting up the system.

Jack Gibson complained there was little notice given to the public about the new trash pickup system that went into operation Monday under a contract with Red River Service Corp. The county stifled competition by hiring only one company to pickup all rural trash, he said.

John Whelan made similar comments. He also blamed local news media for failing to inform the public about the trash pickup program.

"We have lousy local media," Whelan said. "They seldom get anything right."

Hinojosa reviewed efforts by the county to include public opinion in the process.

"We had three public hearings on this ... in Brownsville, Harlingen and San Benito," the judge said. "We had at least 10 meetings on this. This discussion has been going on for over two years."

County officials wanted to place the matter on the ballot, but the Attorney General's Office said that would not be legal.

Hinojosa said residents will not have to pay two bills for trash pickup.

"We're telling you that you can continue with your contract, but once those contracts are over, like any other government (trash collection) program, you've got to get into the same system as everybody else," the judge said.

However, Richard Burst, a lawyer representing the commissioners court, said a county lawsuit seeking to force other haulers to stop operating is proceeding. But, attorneys are also negotiating a resolution, Burst said.

During a special Tuesday meeting, commissioners heard a presentation by BFI attorney John David Franz, who said the process of choosing a trash hauler was biased against BFI.

He claimed Brownsville Assistant City Manager Carlos Ayala should not have served on the selection committee because of a conflict of interest.

BFI's landfill at Donna competes with the Brownsville city landfill for business, Franz said.

Also, he said the contract with Red River will result in heavy overcharges to customers who dispose of a lot of brush, which would have been picked up by BFI at no extra charge.

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Copyright (c) 2005, Valley Morning Star, Harlingen, Texas

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AW,

Source: Valley Morning Star (Harlingen, Texas)

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